1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to lubricant additives and compositions thereof and, more particularly, to lubricant compositions comprising oils of lubricating viscosity or greases prepared therefrom containing a minor friction reducing amount of hydrolysis products of substituted imidazolines and borated adducts of such hydrolysis products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many means have been employed to reduce overall friction in modern engines, particularly automobile engines. The primary reasons are to reduce engine wear thereby prolonging engine life and to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the engine thereby reducing the engine's energy requirements or fuel consumption. While it is commonly understood that lubricants by definition, reduce friction between moving surfaces, friction reducing additives are agents which when added to lubricants in minor amounts significantly enhance the frictional properties of those lubricants without modifying other physical properties such as viscosity, density, pour point, and the like.
Many of the solutions to reducing fuel consumption have been strictly mechanical, as for example, setting the engines for a leaner burn or building smaller cars and smaller engines. However, considerable work has been done with lubricating oils, mineral and synthetic, to enhance their friction properties by modifying them with friction reducing additives.
Although imidazolines have been added to lubricants for various purposes, the hydrolysis products of this invention and the corresponding borated derivatives are to applicants' best knowledge novel and have no prior history of use as friction reducing or friction modifying additives or for that matter of use in the major additive areas of anti-corrosion or antioxidation in lubricating compositions. It is further understood that the borated derivatives of this invention possess multifunctional capabilities, i.e., antioxidation and/or bearing corrosion protection in addition to friction modification.